quality of life

“Short term rentals / current and proposed legislation concerns”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I’m reaching out regarding Mayor Bowser’s proposed changes to short term rentals. Please indulge me with some context first that powers my alarm. And I’d like to be anonymous please.

I saw your recent posts on rats. In Brightwood they are bad, and on our block getting worse due to a short term rental that isn’t owner occupied and appears to be owned by a VA resident. There are numerous large parties generating lots of garbage. And in recent months no one is putting the trash in the alley. The piled up garbage on the property is feeding a surge in rats on our block.

For many, many months my neighbors and I have been going from DC department to department and to Airbnb directly to try to address the non-owner-occupied full time Airbnb (violation of current law) on our street and as noted the numerous parties that often exceed quiet hours and generate uncontrolled garbage.

In researching links to share with Airbnb, (more…)

“Where are all of the mosquitoes? (Stay vigilant this week!)”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Here’s the catch bag from my mosquito trap, emptied after ~2.5 weeks. It’s easily 1k+ mosquitoes.”

“Dear PoPville,

I started the Itty Bitty Mosquito Committee a couple months ago to address Capitol Hill’s gnarly mosquito situation… and to my very honest surprise it seems to maybe be working? I started this as a way to get a sweet discount on some traps I was eyeing and it snowballed into a grassroots effort that we’re now working to turn into a nonprofit. We’ve grown beyond Capitol Hill and have blocks participating across all wards, and I’ve been hearing from a lot of neighbors that they’re spending time outside for the first time in years.

With all the rain and heat today/this week I’d love some help getting the word out to the rest of DC on taking care of their standing water.

Anyone else notice the mosquitoes are missing? (more…)

Help: “Noisy Fan from Restaurant Below Apartment. Any ideas for solving it?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I live in a large apartment building that sits directly above a restaurant (which opened early last fall). Nearly every day for two months, they have been operating a very loud industrial fan right below my window whenever the restaurant is open, which I have measured at 70 db from outside at the property line and 80 db from my apartment (with the window open), and sounds like someone is running a lawn mower nonstop. I’ve caught the restaurant management lying on multiple occasions, claiming to have turned the fan off when it was still running well after service had stopped, and one night a few weeks ago they forgot to turn it off and kept it running all night.

I scheduled an inspection with the Department of Buildings and got an email confirming that it was conducted, and that they did not find any violations. This seems odd since (more…)

DDOT Started Spraying Ginkgo Trees Overnight!!

By Prince Of Petworth

Beautiful leaves but vile, VILE fruit.

From DDOT:

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will begin the annual spraying of the female ginkgo street trees on Sunday, April 19, 2026. The spraying will occur overnight from 9:00 p.m. through 6:00 a.m., weather permitting.

The annual spraying serves to reduce the formation of mature ginkgo fruit, which emits an offensive smell when it falls on sidewalks and roadways. DDOT will use the same spray it has used for the past 20 years, (more…)

Notes from Your Neighbors – Parking Problems Cont. Storm Day + 10 – RAGE (on both sides of the argument)

By Prince Of Petworth

Above from the Palisades:

“I don’t know who you are or where you live. But your GALL in parking in front of my house and abandoning your car for more than a week is RUDE, DISGUSTING, and DESPICABLE. You are thoughtless and have no class.

I with you nothing bu the worst. Karma will get you. You are a lousy piece of CRAP, stupid, and grossly inconsiderate.”

Whew.

And on the flip side:

“Dear PoPville,

When you leave a swath of public space you do NOT have any entitlement to it. You privatized it after somebody left it. No matter the weather circumstances. No matter what message or items you leave behind to claim it. If I could I would destroy each and every one of these self-absorbed parklets, and leave individualized messages about why they suck.

I have never seen DC residents sink so low. DC is NOT Boston or Philly.

Digging your car out entitles you to NOTHING. (more…)

Storm Day + 8 We’ve Entered the Dog Debate Stage

By Prince Of Petworth


1300 block of Florida Ave, NW

Lots of chatter from folks lamenting the sight of dog excrement around town.

My take:

This happens after every snow storm. Hell some despicable folks don’t pick up after their pets in any weather. I believe the dog crap is just more noticeable contrasting on the white snow. Some people are just jerks in any season. Having said that, there are also currently trash cans overflowing with poop bags. So pick your poison I guess…

“Norton Introduces Bill to Establish Grant Program to Mitigate Harmful Effects of Train Noise, Vibrations and Derailments on Homes”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Eric P.

From the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a senior member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, introduced a bill to establish a grant program for the design and construction of barriers to mitigate rail activity that may harm homes and their occupants, including derailments, noise and vibrations. (more…)

View More Stories